1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a system and method that utilize computers and a network to effect the return of consumer products. In one preferred embodiment, the invention is directed to a system and method for facilitating the return of spent, recyclable products from a consumer to a destination preselected by the manufacturer for recycling.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are many circumstances in which it is desirable to move a product from a consumer back to a manufacturer, for a variety of reasons. In the field of laser toner cartridges, for example, it is desirable to move a spent cartridge from the consumer back to the manufacturer, so that the manufacturer may recycle the cartridge. Such a system allows the manufacturer to re-use some portions of the cartridge in order to fabricate new cartridges, and to reduce other portions to scrap materials which may also be re-used. Recycling a cartridge in this manner allows a manufacturer to fabricate new cartridges more cheaply, and also has very positive effects on the environment.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,965,858 to Suzuki, et al. proposes a manufacturer article recycling program. In that patent, articles are manufactured at a manufacturing factory, delivered to stores, and purchased at stores by customers. After the customer has used the article for a given period of time, it is brought to a local deposit place (or to the store, which then sends it to the deposit place), where it is classified on the basis of category or class, and then sent to an appropriate recycling facility. In Suzuki et al., however, there is nothing which addresses the particulars of how the article is moved from the customer to the deposit place.
One conventional method of effecting the delivery of consumer product for recycle is to include with a newly purchased product a pre-authorized shipping label.
Such a label is typically pre-printed with a pre-selected destination (such as the manufacturer's recycling facility), and is pre-authorized by a specific carrier (such as, for example, United Parcel Service). When a consumer has exhausted the product and is ready to return it, the consumer locates the label that came with the product, locates a box in which to put the product, affixes the label and ships the product in the box with the label affixed.
The above-described method is a generally good one, and has been used to effect extremely successful recycling programs. Nonetheless, it suffers from several significant drawbacks, most of which stem from the fact that it basically a static, non-adaptable system which cannot be easily modified as circumstances change. For example, if the label included in the original packaging is lost, the consumer cannot readily effect the return of the product.
Another drawback associated with the conventional method is that the manufacturer must select the destination of the consumer product return when the product is initially packaged, and cannot change the destination thereafter. And because the selection must be made at the time the product is packed, before the manufacturer knows in whose hand the product will ultimately wind up, it cannot be tailored to a specific consumer. Thus, the manufacturer cannot direct the consumer product to be returned to a destination closer to the consumer, thereby lowering shipping costs.
Another drawback of the conventional method for handling product returns is that the method offers no mode for interaction with the consumer during the return process. In fact, a product manufacturer typically cannot tell where a returned package originated from, or whether the returned package contains the product at all. Indeed, unscrupulous individuals have been known to abuse the product return system by affixing a pre-authorized label to a non-authorized item, sometimes delivering an unwanted and bulky item to the product manufacturer's return destination.
Moreover, packing a pre-authorized shipping label with a consumer product locks in the manufacturer to the carrier service indicated on the shipping label. This reduces the ability of the manufacturer to negotiate among potential carrier services to obtain the lowest cost.
There is a need, therefore, for a system and method of effecting the return of a consumer product that takes an entirely fresh approach, and overcomes the drawbacks associated with the conventional methods discussed above.